Exmouth sailor wins prestigious award for enabling people with disabilities to sail

An Exmouth sailor will be presented with one of the Royal Yachting Association’s most prestigious awards by HRH the Princess Royal, President of the RYA, in recognition of his significant contribution to enabling people with disabilities to get involved in sailing at Exe Sailing Club (ESC).

Rick Newcombe was nominated for the Francis Elkin Award by ESC and selected as a winner by the RYA Honours and Awards Panel. He will receive his award at the organisation’s annual awards ceremony in London on 18 November.

For the past 15 years Rick has worked with ESC to build an infrastructure that proactively supports youth sailing and sailing for the disabled. Development of RYA Sailability activities has been his long-term goal; his personal engagement and belief in the programme has seen it develop into business-as-usual at ESC, where people with disabilities are given daily access to specially-adapted boats that are able to accommodate even the most severely disabled.

His determination, perseverance, doggedness and force of personality have ensured that facilities, services and trained volunteers are available for many people who otherwise would be denied access to a tremendously enjoyable and captivating experience.

Rick reports that he was very surprised by the award: “I was delighted for the project, but it was very unexpected – this is quite a small-scale and local project. But this award is really something for everyone involved in it – I have vision and I’m a good organiser, but it’s very much a part of the Exe Sailing Club and everyone, from our enthusiastic team of about 20 volunteers to all the club members, is without exception very proud of it.

“There are lots of projects out there operating on a much grander scale, but I’ve always been obsessive about sustainability and flexibility; we’re out five days a week, two sessions a day plus a bit more, and the boat gets hired by the club at weekends. We can sustain this by recruiting and training volunteers each year, and we’re still flexible enough to take ad hoc bookings from people who aren’t able to sail regularly.

“I’m going up to the ceremony with my wife and having a weekend in London, so I’m looking forward to it, though I really don’t like fuss! It’s so important to recognise all the volunteers.”

For more information about how to get out on the water in the south west visit www.rya.org.uk/go/startboating